Childhood friend arrested for killing 27-yr-old city woman

MARRIAGE DISPUTEPatna: A day after 27-year-old Sanjana Singh was found brutally murdered in her rented flat in the city's Sri Krishna Puri area, police arrested her childhood friend Suraj Kumar from Vaishali on Friday. Suraj, a married man, was upset about Sanjana's upcoming marriage and wanted her to remain single and continue their relationship, police said.Sanjana was found dead on Thursday evening in her flat at Manorama Apartment, Anandpuri locality, with multiple knife wounds and signs of attempted burning. Her domestic help discovered the body, lying next to an LPG cylinder with its pipe detached. According to the post-mortem, she was stabbed and then set on fire while still alive.City SP (central) Sweety Sehrawat said, "Sanjana's school friend Suraj was the one who killed her. They had known each other since the sixth grade. Suraj, who is married, did not want Sanjana to marry and wished to continue meeting her. They argued on Thursday, after which Suraj attacked her with scissors and set her on fire using gas from a cylinder."Police said Suraj had visited her flat several times before and had financially supported her. After committing the crime, he fled, wearing Sanjana's clothes to disguise himself. He also sent someone to file a false mobile theft report in Sakra to mislead investigators. "The accused watched a web series and planned the murder in detail," Sehrawat added.Suraj travelled from Vaishali to Patna on a bike, parked it on Bailey Road and took an autorickshaw to Boring Road before walking to Sanjana's flat. CCTV footage captured him entering with a backpack and later leaving with Sanjana's laptop bag. The police used this footage to identify and track him.Sanjana was living on rent at the home of retired irrigation department officer Rajeshwar Prasad. She was killed between 1pm and 3pm, but police were alerted only around 10pm.